Training & Nutrition - OK, so I'm Dizzy

So I'm a dizzy chick! :lol:

Seriously, I have always had low blood pressure and suffered often from dizzy spells. I noticed in the last year and a half or so, it's been getting worse... I have weeks where EVERY time I get up, WHOO! gotta put my head down and wait for a min. before I can get going. I never made the connection that my dizziness got worse around the time I got serious about my cycling. So over a week recently I was benched from my riding due to a very minor surgery for a week and a half. I was a raving lunatic without my rides, but hey, surprise, surprise... no dizziness all that time! So finally, oh joy, I can go back to biking this weekend... I do 2 24 minute rides, and been dizzy ever since. I've also noticed in the past when I did my harder/longer rides, I'd REALLY have bad dizziness every day... even after eating big meals.

No, it's not a blood sugar thing... at least, I don't think so. I eat or drink carbs before and after my rides, I stay hydrated... and it's not like I only suffer after a ride and it stops when I eat... I stay dizzy all darn day/evening. My Nurse practitioner kind of blows it off, and though the dizzy spells can be bad... I've never passed out.

Sooo... just wondering if anyone has any thoughts or has been through anything similar. I usually go on 24-30 mile rides, but I'm starting to train for a 100k at the end of this month, I don't need to be passing out if I take things up a notch.
Thanks in advance!

I had this problem when I was playing soccer. Doc told me to take electrolyte drinks to replenish the salts and minerals I sweated away.

Biking's even more severe in the amounts of electrolytes you sweat away. Typically a bike that rides 200-miles/week will need to eat about 600-800% more salt than the daily allowance.

So when you ride, make sure you take an electrolyte drink with you.

My blood pressure is 80/40. My doc says there's no such thing as low blood pressure unless you're experiencing fainting spells or severe chronic dizzyness. He says that it's a sign of excellent aerobic fitness.

I get a little dizzy once in a while, and there have been one or two times I got so dizzy I felt like hurling. But the severe times are extremely rare and the more frequent episodes are very minor. My doc says nothing is wrong and not to worry, but of course keep him informed of anything new.

I don't think mine is blood sugar related either since I eat like a horse all day long. If I do happen to miss a meal, it doesn't seem to have any effect on the dizzyness.

I would make sure you clear yourself with your doc though.

Az

I've had the same problem on and off since I entered my teens.
For the past month, it's been worse than usual. I have to walk bent over for a while after I get out of bed. Just sitting down for half an hour produces the same effect.

It's not related to blood sugar or electrolytes, as I consume these more than enough, and I am rarely even slightly dehydrated.

Curiously, though, this problem got worse now, during 5-6 weeks without cycling.
So it would seem it's a reversed situation compared to Kittydew's.

I haven't had my blood pressure checked in years, so I can't tell you what it is.
In the past, I've been within 100-110/50-60. Not that low.

Especially when you have low blood pressure to begin with, as many serious athletes do, you can develop what is known as postural hypotension. It takes a few seconds for your bp to reach your head and you feel dizzy when you first stand up. I have the same problem. My resting bp is usually somewhere around 90/50. Last summer my doc prescribed me some sodium chloride pills. These help your body to retain fluids and help to increase your bp. This is why many people with high bp are asked to try to avoid sodium. But if it is low to begin with, it can help. :)

i have that too... i had low blood pressure for most of my life, except when i was taking a medication that made me dizzy...for a while my BP went up due to that and stress, but now it's back to normal. I get dizzy when i stand up or look up too fast... just be careful, especially when exercising.

So I'm a dizzy chick! :lol:



sounds like orthostatic hypotension...you should have a cardiac evaluation from a cardiologist to be safe. get a referal from your NP. you don't need to be old to see a cardiologist...and your NP is NOT a replacement for such a visit. it's your body, decision is up to you. probably benign, but i wouldn't be taking advice on here or a medical forum.

good luck

Same thing happens to me. Doctor blew me off totally, suggesting Prozac of all things. I blew a gasket, asked if prozac is recommended for dizzy/weak spells. Will NEVER go back to him. He also said I'm "just a laid-back person" which keeps my BP low. I started eating bananas every day. I don't really like bananas but it seems to help a little. I also eat plenty of carbs and do the sports drinks. I MADE him do a blood test for anemia. It came out within normal ranges, but on the low side. Still hoping to find a dr to take me seriously. Good luck

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I've been suffering from similar symptoms to Kittydew's and it's been scaring the heck outta me. I'll look into some of the causes mentioned here and see my doctor.

Beej

generally it is not a concern and your body adjusts in 15-20 seconds or so to the pooling of blood in the lower body

I'm not certain I understand how something that is obviously abnormal can be ignored or passed off as just dizzyness.

I've been getting dizzy lately, too but it's only after I have worked out especially hard and it passes quickly. This is a new phenomenon.

I've been training hard the last two months: weight training, cycling at tempo for an hour at a time, and lots of miles and hills.

I notice it when I've been sitting in a chair after a hard workout and then get up to walk somewhere. After a few steps I get a brief spell of lightheadedness which passes quickly, 5 seconds max, but is strong enough I need to stop and grab on to something and put my head down a little. I'm fine after that--at least until I sit down and then get up again. It continues for a couple of hours after a hard workout but then doesn't present again until after my next hard workout.

I trained hard last year at this time and have trained hard at other times and didn't have this happen.

I saw my Dr. last week for an annual physical and told him about it. He's an internist. He took my BP while I was lying down and then had me stand up and took it again--it changed from 120/80 to 115/80. Not a big change. He thought it might be because of a lack of hydration and suggested I take in more fluids. But it's winter here and though it's been a mild winter--it's 62 and sunny right now, I know I lose a lot less fluid on a day like today than I do in July and August when the low is 62 and the high is 95. Although I try to have my rides completed before the very hottest part of the day, I'm often still on the bike in the summer when it's in the high 80's and low 90's. If I don't drink enough then I can get symptoms of heat exhaustion--tired, weak, and slightly nauseous. I know then I need to stop and cool off quickly--pouring water over my head and upper body helps. Just water isn't enough--I need to cool myself down.

But I didn't get dizzy in the summer like I have lately and you'd think that riding in conditions like that would dehydrate me much more than even hard training rides on days when it's 30 something when I start and 60 something when I stop.

I only get it when I've been inactive. After exercise, my BP is always "normal", and I don't really get the dizziness.

I'm not certain I understand how something that is obviously abnormal can be ignored or passed off as just dizzyness.
who said it's abnormal look at all the people on here who said it happens to them. it happens to me sometimes as well. it is just a lack of blood to the head when there is a drastic change in posture. sometimes the body cannot compensate instantaneously.

however, it shouldn't be taken for granted and that is why i suggested the OP have a Cardiac eval to rule out a serious problem.

sounds like orthostatic hypotension...you should have a cardiac evaluation from a cardiologist to be safe. get a referal from your NP. you don't need to be old to see a cardiologist...and your NP is NOT a replacement for such a visit. it's your body, decision is up to you. probably benign, but i wouldn't be taking advice on here or a medical forum.

good luck

postural hypotension and orthostatic hypotension are two different terms for the same condition, feeling faint or dizzy upon rapid change in posture due to momentary lack of oxygen to the brain. :)

postural hypotension and orthostatic hypotension are two different terms for the same condition, feeling faint or dizzy upon rapid change in posture due to momentary lack of oxygen to the brain. :)
coolio, i didn't read any of the replies before writing myself...oops

your thyroid can also cause dizziness... get it checked out.

Try dying your hair a different color, that might solve the dizziness...

Try dying your hair a different color, that might solve the dizziness...

Dang it Danno, I'm a BRUNETTE not a blond! :roflmao:

And re: MX 599's comments... "however, it shouldn't be taken for granted and that is why i suggested the OP have a Cardiac eval to rule out a serious problem."
I actually had an echo-cardiagram a year ago (long story, briefly took Phen-fen, and yes, i know DUMB) anywho the ticker seems to be in good shape, but I will talk in more detail to my GP and express my concerns more strongly. I am only 36, but I hear you about never being to young.

I was actually pretty sure it was othostatic hypo... my Mother-in-law is an ER nurse and told me a while back that was probably it. But I've read up on a a bit, the general info seems to just say, as long as there is no serious heart problem, just to take it easy, so to speak. (sigh, big help) I am going to start using fitness drinks and see if that helps. Maybe talk to my GP about how I'm training up now and want to offset this as much as possible. Find out if I have any options. I don't want this turning me off my cycling!

it does make me feel a bit better just to know I'm not the only one suffering, and that there are other athletes here with similar problems. Glad I posted about it, seems to be a good subject for
quite a few people. :-) Thanks for all; the good suggestions/commiserating folks!
Kitty

Hey as long as you know what's going on, no big deal. Just hope that no situations come "up" where you forget about your "condition" until it's too late.

Getting up from a rest during a bike ride, in an open area, with nothing to steady yourself or break your fall comes to mind.........

Vertigo?, Orthostatic hypotension (a decrease in blood pressure upon standing)? Bypass the NP and see the MD.

So finally, oh joy, I can go back to biking this weekend... I do 2 24 minute rides, and been dizzy ever since.


I usually go on 24-30 mile rides

To be honest, this just does not sound like the kind of workout intensity that would trigger postural hypotension this badly. The only person I know who has it this bad, mostly gets it during the season when he's doing hard 400 mile weeks.

He's fainted twice. Once after a whirlwind trip to New York that apparently left him dehydrated and undernourished. And once in the OR, scrubbed in and standing to observe a surgery with little to no breakfast.

I'm restricting calories right now, and when I'm successful I stay lightheaded a lot of the time and get bad headrushes occasionally -- even after a meal. How many calories are you eating daily?

My wife went to see her doctor about her dizzyness. Her doctor told her to stop standing up quickly. Something tells me that's bad medical advice, but I don't have the 8 years of school to back up my opinion.

Why are you asking here? Please go see a doctor.

Koffee

Bypass the NP and see the MD.
...or D.O.

Something tells me that's bad medical advice, but I don't have the 8 years of school to back up my opinion.
no...that is not bad advice. more often than not, it is benign

My wife went to see her doctor about her dizzyness. Her doctor told her to stop standing up quickly.

:D :D :D

Mx, yeah, I've heard DO's can be more willing to talk with you... The MD at my Practice is not a great guy...

and Koffee, I have talked to my GP, and as I said, kind of got blown off. And anyway, I am checking with my Dr, but as Wulfheir's wife experienced, that isn't always the ONLY place to get info from. I wanted to ask other bikers, I do research on the internet, I talk to my Nurse MIL, I want to learn as much as I can, Dr's are not always the best or only answer, although they must be one of the people you talk to, for sure.

Alison, it's all relative eh? I was biking a max of 10n miles until recently... for me, 30-34 is my killer ride. 24 is a pretty solid one. I dunno if that matters, but 34 miles totally kicks my butt, so 24 is a pretty solid ride for me.
Kitty

Mx, yeah, I've heard DO's can be more willing to talk with you... The MD at my Practice is not a great guy...


better yet....look up a local DO cardiologist! :D

Alison, it's all relative eh? I was biking a max of 10n miles until recently... for me, 30-34 is my killer ride. 24 is a pretty solid one. I dunno if that matters, but 34 miles totally kicks my butt, so 24 is a pretty solid ride for me.
Kitty

Oh, sure. I didn't mean to put down your effort! But my understanding is that when we're talking athletes with postural hypotension, we're talking VERY fit people with heart muscles so strong that they beat very slowly and their blood pressure is really *really* low. For such people, intermittent dizziness could be pretty normal (if still scary when you're the wife steadying your husband when he gets out of the bath and fearing that he'll faint and hit his head like he did a few years ago!) If you're more in the "pretty fit" category than the "full-time top-ranked athlete" category, it's a touch more worrisome, to me anyway. I could brush it off if you were having a mild effect, an occasional head rush when you stand up quickly, if it were confined to just after a hard effort or losing a lot of sweat, but to be continually dizzy and in fear of fainting...I just think it's worth getting some good answers, and maybe a newer EKG that's actually looking for something related to this issue.

Also, you still haven't mentioned caloric intake. Sure you're eating enough overall?

Sorry I didn't respond sooner, nothing like Stomach flu to put you down for a while! :mad:

Ali,
Yeah, I'm not restricting calories much per say, I'm an endless Weight Watcher, but always over points, so I'd say I'm probably eating reasonably for the amount of exercise... I probably av. around 1,900 to 2,000ish a day. I see what you were meaning... elite I am not! LOL!! But pretty excited about this Diabetes ride coming up! 62 miles... I rock!! (for me! ;) )

For what it's worth gang, I've upped my ride intensities and distances (The 100k Tour De Cure coming up this Sunday!!! :) ) I've done a couple 40's and done some sprint training, and have really been cautious to get some calories in before, and started using a sports drink after, seems like I'm recovering better and that the dizziness is much reduced. (not gone, but definitely better!). So some of it might have been that I was just hydrating with water during longer rides. As for the rest, I will talk further with my GP in a week when I go in, maybe ask they do the pd sitting/PD standing thing too. I really appreciate all the help and suggestions! It's good added info!
Kitty

You've already been given the best advice - go see a doctor.

I should add one other possibility no one else has mentioned. It could be an inner ear problem.

There's a fancy schmancy word for this - vestibular vertigo or something like that.

This is also typically a benign problem which can be solved with therapy - I think it involves sleeping sitting up for a few nights - but again - a vestibular therapist can diagnose you and then treat the problem.

I had the same symptoms you describe and the doctor prescribed vestibular therapy but it went away on its own before I could make an appointment.

Let me point out the obvious - if it is an inner ear problem that's related to moving your head - you need to get it fixed. The last thing you want to be doing is leaning into a turn at 20 mph and get a dizzy spell, right?

Good luck and I hope its nothing serious.